Related Links

Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships

5 Easy Steps to Financial Aid

The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships encourages students to complete their FAFSA at www.fafsa.gov by January 1, 2017--the priority date for UM-Dearborn Grant funds. You can apply for the 2017-2018 FAFSA NOW! Remember, our office cannot make a financial aid award until you are an admitted student.

If you have not already done so, you (and your parent if you are a dependent student) must each create your own FSA ID. The FSA ID replaces your FSA PIN.

To learn more about the FSA ID, visit Student Aid.gov/fsaid. The FSA ID is used to electronically sign your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and also serves as an identifier to provide access to your personal information in various U.S. Department of Education systems.

Your Student Aid Report is the U.S. Department of Education’s response to your FAFSA. Review the information for accuracy and make changes if necessary. If there are errors on your SAR, correct them as soon as possible. Retain this document for your personal records. The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships will receive a copy of your application electronically.

If you provided an email address on your FAFSA, you will receive an e-mail that contains a secure link to your SAR information. Click on the URL in the message and follow the instructions to see all of your application results.

If you did not provide an e-mail address on your FAFSA, you will receive your Student Aid Report in the mail.

The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships accepts all grants on your behalf of students, but requires you to accept scholarships, loans, and work study awards. You may accept your financial aid offers on UM-Dearborn Connect. You have the option to accept as is, reduce your accepted amount, decline, or leave at offered status on a term-by-term basis. One accepted or declined for a semester, you cannot revise online. To make changes complete Student Decision Form and submit it to the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships.

If you are receiving private scholarships, benefits from your employer in the form of tuition plans, and/or other sources of funding, your award may need to be revised. A revised financial aid award will be sent to notify you of any changes to your original award.

Applying for Aid

How to Create an FSA ID

FAFSA and FSA ID Tips for Parents

Overview of the Financial Aid Process

FAFSA Overview

How to Fill Out the FAFSA

After the FAFSA: What Happens Next

FAFSA: Determining Your Dependency Status

Federal Student Aid -- Myths About Financial Aid

Selected for Verification

Just because you have completed the FAFSA does not mean that you have finished your financial aid application. Every year, at least 30% of the applicants are selected for a process called verification. This does not mean that you have made mistakes and it is not like an audit by the IRS. Even if you have made mistakes, they can be corrected with the verification process.

You (and your parents if you are considered dependent) will need to complete a Verification Worksheet which usually confirms household members, number in college, and if a federal tax return was filed.

If you did file a federal tax return, you (and your parents, if dependent) will be required to submit an IRS Tax Return Transcript or obtain a PDF copy online (print your tax return transcript or have a paper copy mailed to your home) at www.irs.gov.

If there is conflicting information, this may require additional information about assets or marital status.

Once all of your documents have been submitted to the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships, your application will be reviewed by one of the financial aid officers.

​If complete, your financial aid application will be reviewed for a Financial Aid Award Offer which will be sent to your home if you are a freshman. If you are a continuing student, you will receive an email to notify you of login to the UM-Dearborn Connect to review and accept your award.

All applicants are required to be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen to be considered for financial aid. If your status is not confirmed by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and/or the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), you will be required to bring your original documentation of your citizen or eligible non-citizen status to campus so the original can be copied by one of the university staff at the Enrollment Services counter or by the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships. Documentation will be reviewed by a financial aid officer to determine if the submitted document satisfies the requirement.

Nearly all males between the ages of 18-25 must register with the Selective Service System (SSS) at www.sss.gov. The SSS verifies each male applicant has registered with Selective Service.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) matches the name, date of birth, and Social Security number provided on the FAFSA for applicants and parents with their records. When there is a mismatch, additional documentation of name, date of birth, and Social Security number must be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships to resolve this issue.

Incomplete FAFSAs cannot be processed by the Federal Student Aid Processing Center. Until the issue(s) can be resolved, the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships cannot make a Financial Aid Award to you. The most common problem is absence of a required signature.

The FAFSA uses the prior year's (2015) income, current household size and assets. When a family's projected income (2016) will be significantly reduced because of job loss, reduction in child support, divorce, separation, or death, the applicant should meet with a financial aid officer to determine if completing a Special Circumstances appeal would be of benefit.